The "Easterlin paradox" suggests that there is no link between a society's economic development and its average level of happiness. We re-assess this paradox analyzing multiple rich datasets spanning many decades. Using recent data on a broader array of countries, we establish a clear positive...

Based on point-of-time comparisons of happiness in richer and poorer countries, it is commonly asserted that economic growth will have a significant positive impact on happiness in poorer countries, if not richer. The time trends of subjective well-being (SWB) in 13 developing countries,...

There is no significant relationship between the improvement in happiness and the long term rate of growth of GDP per capita. This is true for three groups of countries analyzed separately - 17 developed, 9 developing, and 11 transition - and also for the 37 countries taken together. Time series...

We investigate whether a causal interpretation of the robust association between cognitive skills and economic growth is appropriate and whether cross-country evidence supports a case for the economic benefits of effective school policy. We develop a new common metric that allows tracking...

Economic development in Latin America has trailed most other world regions over the past four decades despite its relatively high initial development and school attainment levels. This puzzle can be resolved by considering the actual learning as expressed in tests of cognitive skills, on which...

Im ifo Schnelldienst 23/2010 wurde über erste Ergebnisse einer neuen wirtschaftshistorischen Forschungsagenda, die historische Entwicklungsprozesse mit mikroökonometrischen Methoden untersucht, berichtet. Sie greift auf einmaliges Datenmaterial preußischer Volkszählungen zurück, das auf...

Im 19. Jahrhundert nahm Deutschland und insbesondere Preußen eine international führende Stellung in der Entwicklung seines Bildungssystems ein. Wenngleich diese Rolle deskriptiv gut dokumentiert ist, konnten ihre Ursachen sowie ihre Bedeutung für den wirtschaftlichen Entwicklungsprozess...

To what extent are improvements in quality of life (material living levels, health, education, political and civil rights, happiness, and the like) associated with economic growth? International comparisons of quality of life (QoL) conditions almost always point to a strong positive association...